So we went outside today. I complained about the heat last week, but evidently I was just kidding because this week we are out in the sun for an hour and a half under blindfold, then for another two to three hours observing lessons of other students. (We need a ton of hours of observation and teaching in order to get our certification.) For our lessons we tend to have a trail of people following us around, which means when you do something stupid EVERYBODY knows about it, but we are all good sports here and can laugh at ourselves too. So far I have not hit any poles, but I did step off a curb today. That was shocking. It was so abrupt I think I just stood there in shock. (In retrospect not the safest course of action.) We were in a safe area and my instructor was right in front of me in case I did stumble. Sometimes making simple mistakes is the best way to learn.
I kept getting scolded today for trying to 'see' with my cane. You are not supposed to use it to try to visualize objects or surfaces. It is supposed to be for gaining information to travel safely. For instance, detecting drop-offs like stairs, indicating walls, and detecting a new sidewalk in the direction you want to travel, you just find it and go. I was tapping around with my cane to try to get more info about the width of the sidewalk, where the grass is, etc. then I would hear "Stop trying to see with your cane!" "Find it and go." I hate being wrong, so I was making extra sure I was at the right place. This is evidently not what you do. It takes too long, and has the potential of getting you turned around which can be disastrous. Patience young grasshopper...
Once we finish our classes and internships (3 of them) we take a board exam and gain national certification. The certification of an O&M has nothing to do with a teaching certificate like educators receive. Even though many O&M specialists work for public schools or contract out services to schools, there are as many or more that work strictly with adult populations. A lot of them even work for both. They have a school contract, and on their off time they work for the local rehab agency. (This is my plan actually.)
We stuck to sidewalks today. It was a little weird to be walking under blindfold with 4 lanes of traffic next to you. Hearing the cars pass by makes you want to cringe. Soon we will learn to cross streets at intersections. The walk signals here in Nagogdoches are audible. They actually count down while it is safe to cross. The college here has several students with blindness and some of them have requested the lights be put in. I had no idea you could do that. Now I know that my future students can petition the city for safer traffic control on their routes. Learn something new every day!
Did I mention the cafeteria here is pretty awesome? We are still finding new things in there. Today at dinner most of our class (of only 13 people) was sitting around our table trying to avoid the hundreds of Junior High band-campers along with the regular SFA students. All of a sudden I see a guy in front of me get up to go get something and come back. Normally no big thing, right? My eyes popped right outta my head when I saw what he brought back. My friend across the table saw my reaction and whipped her head around risking temporary whiplash to see what had grabbed my attention. She turned back around and our eyes connected. We both had only 1 thing on our minds. THERE IS CHOCOLATE MILK IN HERE SOMEWHERE! We simultaneously rose from our chairs like zombies on a mission. Those sly devils hid the chocolate milk from us tucked away by the breakfast cereal. Well it is a secret no more. We came back to the table like we had won the lottery. To put it in perspective, I am more excited about this new discovery than I am about the loaded dessert bar and the Texas-shaped Belgian waffles- (Sorry my Minnesota people, you would have to live here to understand). I think on the 8th day the Lord created chocolate milk...and it was good.
But on the 9th day he sent everyone to the gym for an hour after dinner to work it off. 3 cheers for the fitness center at SFA!
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